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Cocopah Indian Tribe Hosts Veterans Ceremony

Stephanie Sanchez

The Cocopah Indian Tribe hosted a ceremony honoring Vietnam veterans this weekend.

KAWC’s Stephanie Sanchez reports.

The event hosted by the Cocopah Indian Tribe and the Yuma Veterans Center invited veterans and their families to attend.

Cocopah Veterans Association commander Colin Soto was drafted into the Vietnam War and served from 1966 to 1968.

Soto said Saturday’s event focused on giving veterans a chance to be acknowledged for their service.

“There are many people who came home from the war in Vietnam but not all of them came home," Soto said. "We at the Cocopah reservation have suffered thusly and I’m sure that there is other people from reservations that have the same understanding that I do,. We went to fight a war, I lived in a mud hut my bathtub was the canal next to the house yet we did our duty as many of you probably have.”

Soto encourages veterans to share their stories because he believes it will help them heal. He also asks veterans to reach out to the Yuma Veterans Center.